"Do you think he'll turn into a little girl and sneak into Hogwarts?" Tom asked, shocked.
"Although the possibility is very small, it is still possible," Robert replied, rubbing his nose, which itched a little from the medicine. "This is a serious matter, so we need to be careful. What if it is really that old guy?"
Tom thought back to Anne's actions when she resisted the potion.
"Even if she's not that old guy, she doesn't seem like an ordinary first-year student. Do you think she could be another member of the Michael Party?"
Robert shook his head. "Probably not. When the accident happened, it's hard to hide human instincts. Although she reacted quickly and responded in time, her magic power hasn't reached the level of an adult wizard. At most, it's similar to your current level."
"Besides, a veteran Michael Party member would always be alert to their surroundings. But just now, if I hadn't made a noise on purpose, she wouldn't have reacted in time. She was also panicked at that moment, which is hard to conceal… This doesn't match the qualities of a qualified Michael Party member."
In fact, Robert's other thoughts were mere speculation.
However, the one thing Robert was certain about was the strength of his magic.
After mastering nightmare magic, he had become very sensitive to soul strength. If Anne had deliberately weakened her magic power, Robert would have sensed it.
"So, she's okay?" Tom asked, confused.
"That's not necessarily true. Who says only adults can join the Michael Party? Many join from a young age. Didn't you almost want to join when you first got here?" Robert said.
Tom blushed when his past shortcomings were exposed and whispered, "At that time, I did think he was right."
Robert continued, "Anyway, since she's not that old guy, it'll be much easier."
The two were whispering in the team voice chat when suddenly, Tom was hit from behind and staggered.
He turned around and saw a girl named McLaggen glaring at them disdainfully.
"You can even make mistakes when brewing boil potion. With such a low level of ability, you managed to get Felicia Ricci as a reward? Humph... Slytherin!"
Robert and Tom exchanged looks, then simultaneously took out the Felicis and waved it in front of McLaggen, both sporting smug expressions.
Tom said, "You don't agree? Want to bite me?"
Robert added, "You have any objections? Then why don't you report to the Ministry of Magic and find the Aurors?"
"You… you shouldn't be so arrogant!" McLaggen snapped angrily. "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because the professor favors you!"
Robert raised his head arrogantly. "Eh? Sorry, but if you have the professor's favor, you can do whatever you want."
McLaggen's face flushed with fury. "I've never seen anyone as arrogant as you!"
"Eh? So now you've seen it? Anything else? If not, don't block us, we still have class in the afternoon."
Robert and Tom ignored the almost furious McLaggen and swaggered off, leaving her standing in the wind.
The afternoon Herbology class was far calmer than Potions.
This time, Slytherin had class with Hufflepuff.
Their Herbology professor was a beautiful young witch named Elijah Garrick.
Professor Garrick was very approachable. Her great-aunt, Mirabell Garrick, had also been a Herbology professor at Hogwarts, and it was said that they looked very much alike.
Although their family was of Muggle origin, with only one wizard born every other generation, they were all very talented in Herbology.
Two hours later, they emerged from the greenhouse, covered in mud.
Tom felt like he was going to die.
"Luckily... the Herbology class had a lot of practical exercises, or I'd have probably fallen asleep standing up," Tom said, relieved.
Robert shook his head. "No, that's your illusion. In fact, you fell asleep for quite a while in class."
"What did you say?!" Tom was shocked, but after being tormented by Robert for so long, he knew better than to believe Robert's words immediately.
Anne, who had caught up with them, suddenly said, "What he said is true. Professor Garrick even told us not to wake you up, saying that if we did, you might get scared... Ah, Professor Garrick is really gentle! But of course, points were still deducted for you sleeping in class. You've lost five points."
"I… I actually fell asleep in class? And lost points? But... but why didn't I feel anything?" Tom exclaimed, grabbing his hair in frustration, disheveling his normally neat black hair.
Robert laughed. "Don't mess with your hair too much, Tom. What if you turn into a boiled egg early?"
"No! Robert, you did this, right?! You..." Tom glanced at Anne, then held back, not revealing Robert's abilities. "You… you're a dog!"
"I just saw you were too tired and didn't want you to suddenly die on us."
"I'd rather die suddenly!"
"I don't think you're that afraid of death."
"...Shit." Tom was speechless.
Tom was so down that he didn't even bother to eat and went straight back to the dormitory to sleep.
Robert, on the other hand, went to the auditorium to have dinner with Anne, Alphard, Henry, and the others.
In fact, in all of Slytherin, only these three people were willing to interact with Robert and Tom.
Tom's prank on the Hogwarts Express had led to the two of them being isolated.
Robert hadn't expected this, but it didn't bother him.
As Tom had said before, he hadn't come to Hogwarts to make friends.
When they reached the Slytherin table, the people nearby immediately moved two or three meters away, as if avoiding a plague.
Robert sat down without a care and said, "You see, if you can, don't get too close to me. Otherwise, you won't make any friends, and you might be retaliated against because of us."
"This… what's going on?" Alphard was a little confused. His simple mind hadn't yet figured out the reason.
Henry shook his head. "Sigh, Slytherin shouldn't be like this… Don't you understand? Robert and Tom have been isolated. Did you notice? They earned forty points for Slytherin today, but no one even clapped."
Alphard finally understood. "Why are they the same as my sister?"
"I'm an outsider, and I have conflicts with some of the pure-bloods. I will definitely be excluded. It's not good for you to be too close to me," Robert explained, finding a chicken leg from a pile of potatoes cooked in various ways.
"We're not like that. If a friend is ostracized, would you stay away from them just to avoid trouble? People like that don't deserve friends," Alphard said firmly.
Henry added disdainfully, "I'm not scared. If they want to bully me, our Avery family isn't made of clay. If they hurt me... ha, that's perfect! I'll write a letter to my father and grandfather. We can't blackmail them to death! My grandfather wants to change the carriage anyway…"
Anne smiled quietly, but like Henry and the others, she ignored the stares from others and sat next to Robert.
"Thank you," Robert said, smiling.
Even though Anne was likely pretending, it still felt warm to have a few people who didn't isolate him.
But it was about time to give these Slytherins another beating...
Anyway, with Professor Slughorn around, he wouldn't be punished much for taking down a few more of them. It would only make them appreciate him more.
Professor Slughorn wanted to build connections with Robert and Tom.
And didn't Robert want to make friends with Professor Slughorn and use the connections he already had?
That night, Robert lay quietly in bed and didn't get up until late.
He looked over at Tom's bed.
Tom was still very tired and hadn't woken up yet.
Robert quietly got up and slipped out of the dormitory.
This time, he brought Nagini with him.
But just as he entered the common room, he saw a thin figure in a cloak walking down from the girls' dormitory on the second floor.
At first, Robert didn't pay much attention, thinking the girl had forgotten something in the common room and was coming to get it.
But he quickly realized something was off.
The girl seemed to disappear after turning behind a pillar!
Robert was a bit surprised and quickly cast an illusion spell to make himself invisible.
As soon as he was completely hidden, the door to the common room opened by itself.
Then it fell shut again, as if a completely transparent person had walked out!
Robert immediately became alert.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..." Nagini suddenly spoke to Robert.
After all the time spent studying, Robert had picked up enough snake language to understand what Nagini meant.
Nagini had sensed something leaving the common room, and judging by its body temperature, it seemed to be a human girl.
"She has an invisibility cloak!" Robert realized immediately. It seemed that the person who had been peeping at him in the library last night was that girl!
"Nagini, show me the way!" Robert ordered.
Nagini nodded and gestured for Robert to follow.
Since snakes could detect heat, even if the other person was wearing the Potter family's invisibility cloak, there was no way they could escape Nagini's search.
Nagini led the way, and Robert followed.
(End of this chapter)
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